1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is concerned generally with awning assemblies and more specifically with collapsible awning assemblies adapted for use with recreational vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past awning assemblies have included an awning, and a awning support structure having a main support arm and a rafter arm in each of a forward arm assembly and a rearward arm assembly. The awning assembly has been collapsible from an extended position to a stored position wherein the awning and the supporting structure have both been enclosed in a box mounted to a wall. In the extended position, the rafter arm has extended from the box and the main support arm has extended from the wall to support the awning.
In the past, the box has been formed from two extruded members, a first member forming a lid at the top and front of the box and a second member forming the back and bottom of the box. Both of these members have been relatively large structures and therefore have been extrudible only with use of relatively large dies. These large dies are not commonly available so that the number of suppliers for these box members have been very limited. As a consequence, the cost of the box members has been relatively great and lead times associated with the ordering of these parts has been excessive.
Of perhaps greater importance is the face that the thickness of the walls forming the box members has had to be relatively great in order to accommodate the extrusion process. The thick walls have been desirable to provide rigidity to the box but have been particularly disadvantageous due to the excessive weight.
Weight is of primary importance to awning assemblies which are adapted for use with recreational vehicles. For example, in some instances, the box must be mounted to the top of a tent trailer which is not designed to support structures of significant weight. Awnings of reduced weight are also of particular advantage since they are less likely to provide a gross vehicle weight in excess of highway regulations. This can be paramount importance particularly when other types of auxiliary equipment are included in a particular recreational vehicle.
In some cases brackets have been provided in the boxes to support the awning in the stored position. The brackets have been mounted to the box using rivets and their desired position has been difficult to locate. The rafter arms, which have been mounted beneath these brackets have been difficult to store in the box due to their contiguous relationship with the bottom of the box.
The lids of the boxes have been spring biased to an open position by torsion bars which have extended along the back of the box. These torsion bars have been particularly susceptible to breakage.
The main support arms have been attached to a shaft extending from a roller associated with the awning. This shaft has been bent in a 90.degree. angle to provide the desired orientation between the main support arm and the roller. The bending of this rod has cracked the galvanized coating on the shaft so that rust has tended to form in these areas.
The main support arms have been provided with means for attaching the lower end of the arm to the wall. There has been no provision for disposing the main support arms in a substantially vertical orientation with the lower end of the arm in contact with the ground.